Theodore Annemann

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Theodore "Theo" Annemann , also Ted Annemann , actually Theodore John Squires (born February 22, 1907 in East Waverly , Tioga County , New York ; † January 12, 1942 in Manhattan , New York City ), was an American magician and mentalist .

life and work

The former railway employee started his show career as a tenor singer and assistant to a conventional magician. He derives his stage name from his mother's second husband, Stanley Anneman. In the 30s he specialized in tricks, mind reading , clairvoyance and the like. simulated, which he perfected and thus created a new style. Annemann's style-forming presentation of an apparently supernatural talent became known as mental magic through his colleague Joseph Dunninger . Annemann became famous for his dramatic version of u. a. bullet catch shown by Jean Eugène Robert-Houdin , in which he caught a marked projectile and then fired at him with his mouth, apparently bleeding.

In 1934 he became editor of the journal "The Jinx" , which was specialized in correspondingly bizarre feats and appeared in 151 issues from October 1934 to October 1941. In order to stimulate interest in the following issue, he announced sensational effects, for the realization of which he devised appropriate tricks afterwards according to his own specifications. After his death, Annemann's material was used to create magical books that became classics.

Annemann committed suicide at the age of 35 for unknown reasons. He is said to have suffered from stage fright, alcoholism and self-doubt and in particular to have been unsure whether the audience would see through his methods. There were also two failed marriages.

Trick collections (selection)

  • Sh-HH--! It's a secret . New York: Louis Tannen (undated)
  • Annemann's complete one man mental and psychic routine . New York: Max Holden, 1935.
  • Annemann's Mental Bargain Effects , 1935. (New editions by Max Holden, New York, Boston, Philadelphia: c. 1960).
  • Annemann's Miracles of Card Magic. Holden, New York / Boston / Philadelphia 1942. ( Digitized in the Internet Archive ).
  • Annemann's Practical Mental Effects . Holden's Magic Shops, 1944. (Reprinted as Practical Mental Magic . Dover Publications Inc., 1983 and 2003. ISBN 978-0-48624-426-6 )
  • Max Abrams (Ed.): Annemann. The life and times of a legend. L & L Publications, Tahoma, California 1992. (Contains 621 pages of tricks, English).
  • The lost notebooks of John Northern Hilliard . Washington: Genii Corporation, 2001 (Contributor)

literature

Web links

Commons : Theodore Annemann  - Collection of pictures, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Theodore Annemann Annemann's Card Magic
  2. ^ Theodore “Theo” Annemann Find a Grave
  3. ↑ a b c d e Jeff Abraham, Burt Kearns: The Show Won't Go On [1] CHICAGO REVIEW PR, ISBN 978-1641602174
  4. ↑ Radosław Hoffman: Sekrety mentalisty [2]
  5. ↑ Reprint of numbers 1–50 with table of contents. D. Robbins & Co., Cranbury, NJ 1963.
  6. ^ Theodore Annemann Biography of an American mentalist / magician. In: magiciansmag.com. Magicians Magazine, March 18, 2017, accessed July 7, 2020 (American English).
  7. ↑ see LoC Copyright Office: Catalog of Copyright Entries . Part 1, Group 2. 1935, No. 7 (p. 99, left column)
personal data
SURNAME Annemann, Theodore
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Annemann, Theo; Annemann, Ted; Squires, Theodore John (maiden name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American magician
DATE OF BIRTH February 22, 1907
PLACE OF BIRTH East Waverly , Barton , Tioga County , New York
DATE OF DEATH January 12, 1942
Place of death Manhattan , New York